A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window (original) (raw)

dbo:abstract

A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window is the debut studio album proper by the English rock band Cardiacs. Released on 21 March 1988, its single "Is This the Life?" saw brief chart success due to exposure on mainstream radio, and garnered the attention of a wider audience when it entered the Independent Top 10 in the UK, peaking at number 80. Its reputation was very mixed due to its progressive nature, complex sound, and for being artistically abstract with its lyrics and themes. Some have described its release as a defining moment in 1980s underground culture considering the group's large influence, while the single's airplay achieved a much wider audience for the band. At the start of March 1987, Cardiacs were accused of incest between Tim and his then wife, and band saxophonist, Sarah Smith by the Sunday Sport tabloid, due to the mistaken belief that the pair were related, with the joke being kept up by the band ever since. Sessions for the album began in 1985 at The Workhouse Studios with the songs "There's Too Many Irons in the Fire" and "All Spectacular" being released as a double A-side single in August 1987 and left off the LP, only appearing on deluxe Torso releases of the album. They, along with B-side "Loosefish Scapegrace", were recorded at Soft Option Studios and were included on the Songs for Ships and Irons compilation. The album was loosely conceptualised as a performance by a band of clowns under the tyranny of the Alphabet Business Concern label and the fictional characters of the Consultant and Miss Swift, an idea that was conceived on the Seaside Treats video. The band re-recorded many tracks from their previous album, The Seaside, this time with a larger budget and better studio equipment. With manager Mark Walmesley and engineer Graham Simmonds (previously a Cardiacs member), the group coloured much of the recordings with sound effects and orchestration, as exemplified on "A Little Man and a House", "The Breakfast Line" and "Victory Egg". Recording was completed in 1987. (en)

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wiki-commons:Special:FilePath/ALittleManandaHouseandtheWholeWorldWindowCardiacs.jpg?width=300

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left (en)

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A greyscale image of a daisy with the album title circling the inside and the band's name in the top left corner. (en)

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dbr:Cardiacs

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ALittleManandaHouseandtheWholeWorldWindowCardiacs.jpg (en)

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Album (en)

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Side one (en)
Side two (en)

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* Alphabet Business Concern * Torso (en)

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115.0
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A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window (en)

dbp:nextTitle

dbr:Cardiacs_Live

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1988 (xsd:integer)

dbp:noprose

yes (en)

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dbr:Big_Ship_(Cardiacs_album)

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1987 (xsd:integer)

dbp:producer

dbr:Tim_Smith_(Cardiacs)

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The only picture I'd seen of them was the cover of Cardiacs Live. So I'd been banging on about this amazing group ... when a friend bought Seaside Treats. I remember going around there to watch it and afterwards thinking "Oh Christ. What the fuck have I let myself in for with this lot?" (en)

dbp:recorded

1985 (xsd:integer)

dbp:released

1988-03-21 (xsd:date)

dbp:rev

dbr:Allmusic
NME (en)

dbp:rev1score

[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r527756|pure_url=yes}} link] (en)

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unfavourable link (en)

dbp:source

– Kavus Torabi (en)

dbp:studio

Workhouse and Slaughterhouse, London (en)

dbp:style

padding:8px; (en)

dbp:title

dbr:There's_Too_Many_Irons_in_the_Fire
dbr:Is_This_the_Life?
Victory (en)
Interlude (en)
Dive (en)
A Little Man and a House (en)
All Spectacular (en)
Goosegash (en)
I'm Eating in Bed (en)
In a City Lining (en)
Is This the Life (en)
Loosefish Scapegrace (en)
R.E.S. (en)
The Breakfast Line (en)
The Icing on the World (en)
The Whole World Window (en)
Victory Egg (en)

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1394.0
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studio (en)

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25.0

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Drake, Smith (en)
William D. Drake, Smith (en)

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rdfs:comment

A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window is the debut studio album proper by the English rock band Cardiacs. Released on 21 March 1988, its single "Is This the Life?" saw brief chart success due to exposure on mainstream radio, and garnered the attention of a wider audience when it entered the Independent Top 10 in the UK, peaking at number 80. Its reputation was very mixed due to its progressive nature, complex sound, and for being artistically abstract with its lyrics and themes. Some have described its release as a defining moment in 1980s underground culture considering the group's large influence, while the single's airplay achieved a much wider audience for the band. (en)

rdfs:label